Why arts matter in the rising creative economy

The following is the opening remarks by Ms Lynette Pang , Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Planning and Corporate Development Group) of National Arts Council (NAC), at the inaugural Arts Matters conference held at *SCAPE on 26 September 2022. The one-day conference sought to promote interdisciplinary learning and deepen connections among local arts practitioners and global leaders from the broader creative economy, spanning across technology, Web3, blockchain, music, gaming, marketing, and branding domains. Arts Matters was held in conjunction with All That Matters event by Branded.

I have great respect for our arts sector colleagues. The last two and a half years had been exceptionally challenging for them due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Never have we ever had a stoppage of events or curtailment of audiences at such a scale. Many artists, from actors to painters, have shared with me their personal challenges during this period, both psychologically and physically. Indeed, many artists were compelled to ask existential questions during the pandemic. Nonetheless, I am glad that Singapore is on our way out of the pandemic.

Opportunities for the arts are endless and things are finally looking up with live arts events coming back. Our arts calendar is now packed with an exciting lineup of activities. For example, the Singapore Design Week 2022 just took place in September and Pangdemonium Theatre Company Ltd has a new play opening. There are also many new galleries and exhibitions, and Gillman Barracks just celebrated its 10th year anniversary. Things are really gaining momentum and we should be excited for the future of the arts in Singapore.

However, there is a ‘but’, and that is the growing tensions in the political realm between the great economies, which has a sobering effect on the economy. With great inflationary pressure, it means that discretionary incomes will be smaller for the arts. Audiences may think a little bit more before buying a ticket to an arts event.

We are in the age of the #CreativeEconomy, where we are exposed to a great amount of amazing content. Many of us probably spend our evenings looking at our social media feeds and consuming huge amounts of digital content. While it is great to have live events again, our arts sectors would now be facing more intense competition from digital content.

We are in a time where the “silvers” are a fast-growing audience segment. We ought to think about what this means in terms of the kind of content we put out. Would our works be catering to their needs? Post pandemic wise, would there be adjustments in the behaviours of our collective audiences that we ought to take note of?

Arts Matters aims to provide more insights to equip our arts sector colleagues. Participants will be exposed to many thoughts from global leaders, covering topics such as metaverse, crypto strategy design for arts organisations, branding and marketing in Web3 and audience content development. NAC is also here to help with our various schemes and grants, and to explore supporting technology both front and back end.

Ms Lynette Pang with conference speakers/ moderators, Mr Calvin Wong (CEO, Southeast Asia & SVP, Asia, Universal Music Group ), Mr Ralph Simon FRSA (Chief Executive, Mobilium Global) and Mr Bing Chen (Chairman & CEO, Gold House )

The next key thing to consider is the rise of the creative economy. Currently, at NAC, we are thinking through and working out our mid-term strategy, and #OurSGArts Plan. One key pillar of this plan is the creative economy.

We really hope that our arts sectors could think about how they would play a greater role in the creative economy as there are many great opportunities out there. In addition, our arts sector could consider more on the great “S” word - sustainability. This is not just in terms of how we care for our planet, but more so in terms of our business models for our organisations.

Finally, I hope for all of us to build more awareness of opportunities, and how we can increase savviness to navigate the challenges. Here are some questions I would leave you with as food for thought:

1. How do the larger trends impact your practice as an artist or organisation?
2. What future culture of innovation in the arts sector are you most looking forward to?
3. What are some of the untapped opportunities in emerging domains, like Web3, crypto or metaverse, which you can quickly plug into now? While there are lots of hurdles in a seemingly scary world, there are also many low-hanging fruits too.
4. Who are some new partners in technology or branding domains which you could meet to take steps towards your vision?
5. How could NAC support you in your collaborations and in your foray into the larger creative economy?

Audience engaging with panel speakers during Q&A sessions

Organising the Arts Matters is a deliberate move by the NAC. Through Arts Matters, we hope to bring together our arts sector colleagues with partners from the broader creative economy, and even the business community, to explore opportunities, promote interdisciplinary learning and deepen connections.

Thank you.